(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Melissa Prater and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December I would like to honor and thank my daughter Olivia. She is my rock. A little bit about our family. We are a family of four but a village of many. My husband works full time and I get the privilege to stay home. We have two children ages 5 and 16. Jack is my youngest and is diagnosed with ADHD, a speech delay and is on the autism spectrum.…
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(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Kelli Stutzman and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December I would like to honor and thank my oldest son Andrew. He is an amazing brother and son and I am so blessed to have him. To start, I want to share with you just how much my son Andrew helped me. Two years ago, at age 19, Andrew had just moved to Kansas City to live with his dad. It was a whirlwind at our house. I had…
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The number one question I am most commonly asked is…does your son with autism sleep? And if he does, give us your secrets. The answer is yes. He sleeps now. But he didn’t for nearly six years. Cooper did not sleep through the night until he was 4.5 years old. As a newborn he slept 6-8 hours in a 24 hour period and never slept longer than a 45 minute period. The sleep deprivation was torture. Around age 4.5 Cooper started sleeping but woke up before 4 am for a…
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My son Cooper loves our Christmas Tree. He will stare at it, study it, and even examine it. Cooper is a visual stimmer so the combination of the colors and textures soothes him. He also loves the tree for other reasons. He can help decorate it….daily. The tree is his go to place to put objects. Throughout the entire Christmas Season, I dig his shoes, books, plates, sippy cups, movies and family photos out of the tree. He also likes to hoard objects behind the tree itself…specifically objects he does…
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(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Corinne Doyle and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December, I would like to honor and thank my mom, Mary Doyle. She is the epitome of a SUPER GRANDMA. My son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder on May 26, 2017. A day that forever changed my life. Jett has always kept us on our feet starting from the day he was born. He was born premature at 36 weeks and then shortly after birth caught RSV at five weeks…
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I am so excited to share our 2017 Christmas card with you. Christmas cards are one of my favorite holiday traditions, and I love documenting the end of our year with a new card. Every year I include a quote about autism and hope on the back of our card. I think people get the subtle reference and hopefully smile. My favorite: ‘Anything can happen child. Anything can be. Never stop believing.’ I also love receiving cards from our friends and family. I hang them all over my kitchen and…
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(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Cindy Heitman and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December I want to honor and thank our son’s teacher, Shannon Tackes. I am so very grateful for Shannon! My son, Erik, has non-verbal autism. Although he can’t speak, he doesn’t have any trouble letting you know what he wants. Erik is so sweet and his giggle will make you giggle too. Erik is 6, however, he wasn’t diagnosed until he was 4 1/2 years old. Because Erik had great eye contact, was…
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I’m often asked what bits of advice would I give to parents of newly diagnosed children. Or, what would I say to my younger self to make the autism journey easier. That question always makes me think. What would I say? It’s hard because I feel that so much of it we just have to go through. It’s almost a right of passage and a journey of self discovery. These are the four things I wish I could’ve told my younger self about relationships, behaviors, hope and challenging my child.…
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(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Tiffanie Bashay and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December I want to honor and thank our BCBA, Kelly Guyot. Kelly has been working with Anthony and our family since November 2015 and I am so thankful she is in our lives. Our son Anthony is four years old, nonverbal and on the autistic spectrum. He has come a long way since his diagnosis two years ago! Anthony is an only child and he lives at home with his…
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(Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Alayna Ferrell and is part of Cooper’s, ‘I’m Thankful For You’ Campaign.) This December I want to honor and thank Emily Sirico, a Special Education Teacher. Emily Sirico is not just a teacher to her students, she is their friend. My senior year of high school (2016-2017), I had the opportunity to job shadow a teacher. Since I was little I always knew that is what I wanted to be. The school guidance counselor sent me to Ms. Sirico’s special needs class for…
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